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18 Sep 2006
Xerox has unveiled a service to help its resellers secure more of the lucrative printer consumables business.
Called Proactive Consumables Management (PCM), the scheme alerts users before they run out of consumables via a pop-up menu on the printer. This prompts them to re-order the supplies directly from the reseller that they bought their machine from. The software passes the serial number of the product to a Xerox database, which then gets linked to the reseller’s web ordering page.
Darren Cassidy, Xerox UK’s general manager, told CRN: “We wanted to give our customers an automated route to order consumables. The benefit for our channel partners is that PCM automatically routes the customer’s order through to the VAR that sold the hardware.
“One of the biggest issues for resellers that sell printer products is how to retain an on-going supplies business. By making it a simple buying decision for users, resellers will be the first contact for consumables sales.”
Leanne Gravil, branch manager at VAR CBC Computer Systems, said: “The service sounds good in theory, but whether customers will actually use PCM to order their consumables is another matter. We find that most customers tend to have a supplier in place for their consumables: usually a stationery company.”
PCM will be available from November, initially on Xerox’s new Phaser 6110 printer, but Cassidy hopes to offer the service on all Xerox printers in the future.
>> Further reading:
Xerox lifts channel with accreditation overhaul
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